This spring, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded UNC-Chapel Hill two prestigious S10 Shared Instrumentation Grants (SIG), bringing state-of-the-art technology to campus that will accelerate discoveries in neuroscience, cancer biology, pathology, and other fields of research. These highly competitive grants recognize the university’s collaborative research environment and provide upgraded tools that will benefit hundreds of faculty members.
Visualizing the Future of Tissue Imaging
Dr. Pablo Ariel, Director of the Microscopy Services Laboratory, received funding to acquire the UltraMicroscope Blaze (Miltenyi Biotec), a light sheet microscope capable of imaging large, cleared tissue samples with cellular resolution. This instrument replaces a “stalwart” predecessor that supported over 30 peer-reviewed papers and 10 doctoral dissertations. This grant comes at a pivotal time for the campus imaging community. The Microscopy Services Laboratory (MSL) has officially joined Carolina Microscopy, a newly formed unit that merges four of the university’s premier microscopy cores. This merger is designed to streamline access to high-end equipment and centralize expertise for researchers across campus.
The new system is an order of magnitude faster than previous technology. “This microscope is ideal for taking three-dimensional images of large, fixed samples like mouse organs, organoids, and biopsies,” said Dr. Ariel. “It takes higher quality images, can fit larger samples, and collects more channels of information. These features will enable exciting new experiments in lung disease, kidney development, and vascular biology.”
Transforming Pathology into Digital Stories
The UNC Pathology Services Core is also set for a major upgrade. Dr. Rani Sellers received funding for the Panoramic 250 Flash III Digital Slide Scanner (3D Histech), a high-throughput system capable of handling 300 slides at a time. It replaces an aging scanner that has been a true workhorse–processing a staggering 51,000 scans over the last five years.
Dr. Sellers noted that the upgrade is about more than just speed—it’s about the depth of information available to researchers. “A whole-slide image can tell an entire story,” Dr. Sellers explained. “Within its breadth lies a wealth of information, carrying the promise of hope: for families seeking answers and for scientists pursuing life-saving biomedical breakthroughs. This cutting-edge scanner will revolutionize our capacity, helping researchers move their findings forward faster with even more rigor and precision.”
A Team Effort
These acquisitions were made possible through significant institutional support from the UNC Core Facilities Advocacy Committee (CFAC), the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, and the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Both instruments are expected to be operational by Fall 2026.